


He Noticed

by thegreatficmaster



Series: Criminal Minds Collection [3]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, Gen, Kidnapping, Love Confessions, M/M, Protective Aaron Hotchner, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-04
Packaged: 2020-10-09 21:00:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20516354
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatficmaster/pseuds/thegreatficmaster
Summary: It takes a kidnapping for Hotch to realize how he feels.





	He Noticed

Hotch held the case file, mind completely blank as he tried but failed to come up with a plan.

As soon as Hotch heard you were taken-the panic hit him like a freight train.

A panic he hadn’t felt since Haley.

And it was then that he realized why he flirted back with you. Why he loved to be in your company-even if you did make him nervous as hell when you had your eyes on him constantly.

At some point in the past year-Hotch had fallen in love with you.

Yet he was about to lose you before he had the chance to tell you.

He threw the file onto his desk, clutching his head in his hands as he tried to remain professional.

But he had no idea how to do that.

Nothing had ever happened between the two of you-but Hotch couldn’t lose you.

Not after Haley. He refused to go through that again.

“Is he ok?” Garcia asked, wishing she’d gone along with the rest of the team.

“He’s tryna hold it together-but I don’t know how long that’s gonna last”, JJ replied worriedly.

The entire team was aware of your crush on Hotch. The constant flirting wasn’t hard to miss.

But what was even more obvious was the fact that Hotch liked it.

The bashful smirks whenever you’d wink at him. The way he’d readily give you a ride with him on the way home. Hell, he even accepted when you invited yourself to go running with him.

The attraction was completely mutual-even if Hotch hadn’t been aware of it.

So-they all knew how he was struggling with your kidnapping.

“I don’t know what to do. I’ve been looking through this guy’s records and there’s nothing. It-it’s like he never existed in the first place”.

JJ sighed, running her hand through her hair as she rifled through some of the documents she’d been given.

“Ok-find everything you can on…”

The tiny shack was completely silent-nothing but woods surrounding it for miles.

The entire team had it surrounded, trying to figure out how best to manage the situation.

But Hotch couldn’t stand there waiting-while you could be in danger.

He lost all manner of restraint and reasoning-forgetting the strategy completely, instead opting to rush to the door and knock it down-ignoring the shouts of the rest of the team.

“FBI!” he yelled, shining the torch into the shack-his heart stopping when he noticed a body lying on the bed, blood soaked into the sheets.

He froze-unable to take another step, in fear of seeing your lifeless eyes staring back at him.

JJ entered behind him, glancing between Hotch and the body.

She silently pleaded that it wouldn’t be you-before taking a step forward, reaching out and turning the body.

The sigh of relief let Hotch know there was still a chance you were ok.

But the worry quickly returned when he heard a yell from outside.

_“Over here!”_

It’d been almost three days, and you still hadn’t woken up.

The entire team was worried-but not only about you.

Hotch hadn’t left your bedside the entire time. He only left your room to go to the toilet, and that was it.

Garcia had to force him to eat-and even then, he only took a few bites and nothing else.

He hadn’t showered, shaved, or brushed his teeth.

Hotch was an entire mess-but he didn’t care.

After all-he was blaming himself.

He should’ve worked harder. Found you faster-before you’d been stabbed and left in the woods.

He was so taken in the thoughts of blame and self-hate, that he didn’t realize your eyes had opened, head shifting slowly from side to side, a grimace on your face at the aching all over your body.

“Hotch?” you croaked, hissing when you attempted to sit up.

His head whipped up, eyes wide when he saw you looking down at him.

You were about to ask him what happened-but your words were cut short when he lunged forward, wrapping his arms around you inhaling deeply.

You sat there for a few seconds, completely taken aback, before you relaxed in his arms.

Maybe your flirting hadn’t gone as unnoticed as you thought.


End file.
